RUB: International Law

The international law course aims to provide the students with a thorough insight into basic concepts, principles and methods of international law that are relevant for humanitarian action. The following points should be borne in mind: 
- a good knowledge of international law requires a good understanding of the legal methods and principles; 
- to understand fully international law relating to humanitarian assistance it is necessary to have a good grasp of general international law; 
- the terminology in international law is very accurate. 
The course will therefore provide you first with an introduction to general international law before delving into the parts which are more relevant for your field of study, i.e. international disaster response law, international humanitarian law and international human rights law, European law.

Introduction to international law, 
International disaster response law, 
International human rights law and international criminal law, 
International humanitarian law, and 
European law. 

Lecturers provide at the beginning of each course a very short introduction to the key concepts and principles of international law. Further in the class, the subject will be deepened. 

During the entire class, the students are invited to participate in the class. In this regard, it is recommended that the students read all documents and articles enumerated in the reading list so that they can actively participate in the discussions. No debate can take place if you do not contribute yourself to it. 

Grades will be determined by an oral examination (66%) to be held in January and the Human Rights Moot Court in November (33%) which serves as midterm exam. For the final examination, students will be examined in small groups of 3-5 students. The first questions are 6 abstract and can be answered from the course lectures. The remaining questions relate to a given case that students will solve by applying the gained knowledge.

M. Dixon, International Law, 7th Edition, Oxford University Press, 2014, Chapter 1, 2, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12.
P. Thielbörger, International Criminal Law, NOHA-Textbook (made available by lecturers). 
ICRC, International Humanitarian Law. Answers to your Questions, 2002.
R. Cryer et al. (2010) An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, Chapter I: Introduction - What is International Criminal Law? 2nd edition, Cambridge University Press, pp. 3-21.